


Kind of Ridiculous, but a Whole Lot in Love

by Pondermoniums



Series: Harringrove Ficlets [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alpha Billy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Parents, Discussion on Divorce, Domestic Fluff, Ficlet, Husbands in love, Just a Sprinkling of a/b/o, Love Languages, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Omega Steve, Pining, The cool dads of the neighborhood, dads being dads, from tumblr, head canon, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:29:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pondermoniums/pseuds/Pondermoniums
Summary: It’s a race to the phone for one of the kids to inform, “Daddy, come home for lunch. Papa’s moody.”“Is he pregnant?”“I AM NOT PREGNANT!”A snort comes through the phone. “I’m on my way.”The dads are kind of ridiculous, definitely embarrassing, but a whole lot in love.Alternatively: a little peek into the Harrington-Hargrove house.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Harringrove Ficlets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058345
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	Kind of Ridiculous, but a Whole Lot in Love

**Author's Note:**

> Harringrove husband/dads headcanon! This is originally a tumblr post that I wrote very quickly in order to get it out of my brain. I was working on my omegaverse story when all this sprang to mind, so there's a sprinkling of that too~

Steve’s love languages are quality time and physical touch/proximity. He needs to be physically close to the people he cares about.

It takes Billy a long time to figure out that he’s an actions kind of guy. This manifests in all sorts of ways: putting his ego aside to really say what he means, make Steve breakfast even though he thinks putting ketchup on eggs is some sort of blasphemy, etc.

Obviously these qualities come with their own drawbacks. Steve’s bad days mean he can be really overbearing; and because he’s self-conscious about it, he over corrects and completely withdraws from Billy until Billy figures it out and glues himself to Steve for as long as he needs.

Billy sometimes can’t just calm down with a really long hug or cuddle session. He needs actions given to him as well as doing them. Of course Steve is happy to provide, but Billy’s a doer, not a talker.

So imagine being a tiny tott, and seeing your grumpy dads kind of staring each other down with loud silent treatments until one of them breaks. Steve might ease himself beside Billy and feather-lightly rest his head on Billy’s shoulder while he’s shredding potatoes for dinner. A soft whisper is answered by a hard reply, and then an earnest whisper before Billy finally comes down to meet Steve halfway. And then Steve finishes making dinner for Billy, while Billy stays, if only to have his knee leaning against Steve the whole time.

The dads are kind of ridiculous, definitely embarrassing, but a whole lot in love. And whenever one of them has to go out of town, or is working particularly late, or had to go into work early, and the other has to do their morning routine without the other, that empty space is really felt throughout the house.

These dramatic dads behave like someone died. Steve pulls out Billy’s mug before realizing with a heaved sigh that he’s wasting coffee if he makes enough for two.

Their son takes the mug before Steve can put it away, and finds a use for it. Eats cereal out of it, if he has too. Their daughter curls up with Steve on the couch in Billy’s place during morning cartoons. It’s a race to the phone for one of the kids to inform, _“Daddy, come home for lunch. Papa’s moody.”  
_

_“Is he pregnant?”  
_

_“I AM NOT PREGNANT!”_

A snort comes through the phone. _“I’m on my way.”_

Billy stiffly serves dinner like the world is balanced on his shoulders until their little girl sees the stress ease from her daddy’s face when she tells him, “I called papa. He’s bringing your favorite. Red velvet.”

He tells her, “Thanks, baby,” before his son distracts him with a tug on his sweatpants. Billy scoops an arm under his butt without thinking. Just heaving him up easily, only for their youngest to koala wrap around him. Even when Billy sits down to eat, his baby boy stays on his lap until Steve finally comes through the door, loudly announcing himself by dropping his keys, bag, and probably the cake he picked up on the way home. Because cake, why not?

And their kids try to ignore the sighs and kissing noise from the tiny foyer.

_• • • • •_

Once the kids are able to go to friends’ houses and see the difference, an unspoken understanding happens, both for them as well as their friends. The Harrington-Hargrove house is THE SPOT for everyone to hang out.

Alpha Billy knows how to ride just about any kind of board, and hosts whole neighborhood lessons for skateboarding, or for jaunts to the beach, surfing. Omega Steve (although nobody can tell the difference, and their kids don’t spill the details because they picked up real fast on prejudice bullshit) provides the safety for when one of the friends discovers their mom’s wine closet way too early in life. He’s a mom, dad, and loyal, rowdy uncle rolled into one, so the kids feel safe coming to him for their alcohol and weed curiosity in their pre-teen/teen years. That doesn’t mean he’s giving beer to twelve year olds, but he’s also not berating the kids for their natural curiosities.

Yes, eventually their house is the place where the teens smoke and drink cheap, sweet wine. But it’s better than dangerous jungle juice at a stranger’s house party.

And as fun as a pack of teens might be, a loving environment is magnetic. Steve and Billy lived their teen years through those parties because they needed _something_ that they weren’t getting at home. Turns out, a quieter bonfire in an intimate backyard after a day at the beach drew the kids and their friends far more often than the parties.

Steve and Billy never hide their affection for one another. As the last log burns out in their fire pit, it’s been many years and the kids feel comfortable finally approaching the subject with them. How they do it: stay in love and liking one another. How open they are about things.

Steve admits, _I think if I saw my parents hug more, I would be a different person._

Billy agrees. _Too many broken plates in my house. I didn’t want to became a permanently violent person._

Steve laughed, _Just see what doesn’t work and try differently, I guess. Too many hush-hush things in my house. My parents’ marriage was so under-wraps that they couldn’t dig themselves out to talk to one another._

Billy: _Your parents were walking around like it was still the 1950s._

Steve: _My mom’s beehive hair is legendary._

Billy: _That explains a lot._

The conversation scares the kids in a very calm, adult way. A little bit of the real world, given to them in the safety of their best friends’ back yard, moderated by two dads who are able to guffaw over, _Thank god they saw the light of divorce. Is your mom still coming over next month?_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! [The original tumblr post is here ~](https://pondermoniums.tumblr.com/post/640034186875535360/harringrove-husbanddads-headcanon-im-working-my)
> 
> [Twitter~](https://twitter.com/Pondermoniums)   
>  [Tumblr~](http://pondermoniums.tumblr.com/)


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